At 7:21 pm tonight, Baby Evan will be 1 whole year old.

Most of my birthday posts have been filled with disbelief that the months since Baby Evan was born have passed so quickly. Oh my God, look how fast he’s growing. Holy cow, he can roll over/crawl/walk. Gee, we better hurry up and babyproof. Blah, blah blah blah yakety yak yak. It’s like the mantra of experienced parents everywhere: enjoy every moment because they grow up so fast.

But looking back, every second of the last year has been a million times longer than any previous second in any previous year. Time hasn’t flown, it’s stretched and stretched like a huge piece of taffy or the world’s longest Slinky. There have been a billion trillion zillion magical moments and another million terrible ones – sometimes all in just one day. My life is fuller, richer, busier, happier and just life-ier than ever before thanks to one tiny little 7 pound 12 oz miracle. Who’s now a 23 pound red-headed terror. But the cutest, sweetest, loviest little terror ever to run rampant through a sleepy Connecticut town. I thank God every day that I get to be his mother and pray I get to enjoy another long, busy, exciting, sleepless year starting tomorrow. Plus a 100 more after that.

12 Month Milestones from Baby Center

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Imitates others’ activities – He’s gotten really good at imitating. He can clap, give kisses, put things in, take things out and a few more.
• Indicates wants with gestures – Still not very good at pointing with a finger but reaches and definitely indicates wants.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Takes a few steps – RUNS.
• Says one word besides “mama” and “dada” – He only started saying “mama” yesterday with any meaning attached. But he DEFINITELY knows “mama” now and we’re working on “dada”. If we count “ba” as “ball” then sure, one other word.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Walks alone – RUNS. Although we’re still working on walking without falling and giving himself brain damage more than once or twice a day.
• Scribbles with a crayon – Who gives a 1-year old a crayon? I don’t have enough time to scrub my walls AND call poison control to find out how much wax a kid can safely eat.
• Says two words besides “mama” and “dada” – Well, if we could “ba” and “ball” and “balloon” then SURE. But not really.

Good morning Mama!! I have new teeth today!

Running towards Daddy (my hero)

Take my picture!

Ok, all done!

Tags: 12 months, baby evan, birthday, milestones, pictures